COMPLEX 7 - PROCESS - 2003

YEAR: 2003
STYLE: Progressive/ Technical Metal
FORMAT: FLAC (Image + Log + Cue + Scans + 5% Recovery)
SIZE: 354 Mb
COUNTRY: Germany
THE BAND: Norbert Vornam - vocals; Arne Schuppner - guitars; Bjorn Muller - bass; Guido Schneider - drums

quote]I thought that Progressive Metal with accessible song structures was impossibility. With bands like SPIRAL ARCHITECT and WATCHTOWER basically throwing in riff after ridiculous riff coupled with insane time signatures, extremely liberal song structures (a la ZERO HOUR or POWER OF OMENS) or just sheer musical insanity (SPASTIC INK), I thought that most of the bands in this type of music with just crank out riffs. And don't get me started on Progressive Death Metal... (please note that I love Progressive Death and most Prog. I'm just making a point).

COMPLEX 7 have crushed and destroyed the misconception that amazing musicians cannot write catchy songs that display musicianship and skill. The 'Progressive' elements are still there (awkward and/or complex riffs, time signature changes, an apparent Jazz influence ("Vicious Circle" has a break in the middle of the song)), but not overdone to the point of sheer indulgence. Songs are the main focus of the band, most being in the Thrash/Power Metal vein, with the aforementioned Progressive characteristics, and it makes for an interesting release. You could say that COMPLEX 7 is what EIDOLON would be if they decided to let loose. The vocals also remind me of EIDOLON, although a German accent is present, and sometimes (just sometimes), they remind me of Maniac's spoken word bits on MAYHEM's "A Grand Declaration Of War".

The hell does the name mean anyway? The "complex" part, I got, the "7" part...
http://www.metal-observer.com

Complex 7 is a Progressive Metal band hailing from Germany, this is their second release, being the first one "Water" released in 2001.
Reviewing Progressive Metal is the hardest task for any reviewer, because the complexity and intricacy of each song deserves various listens to fully understand its meaning, in this case, I gave the Cd several spins before I knew what to write about, but deep inside if me, my opinion was made at the first spin.

These Germans play a "Trashy" kind of Prog Metal, because they have some powerful riffs here and there, also and like almost all of this kind of bands, they have impressive technical abilities, tempo changes, clean breaks, soloing and overall great musicianship.

But, sadly, this is not enough these days, with Progressive Metal bands pushing boundaries each day, Old-school Prog Metal won't do it. These guys play really well, but some songs tend to get boring, specially those that are mid-tempo, the lack of catchy choruses and hooks affects the final result also.
That doesn't mean that this is a complete waste of time, many song have intelligent compositions and great breaks , like "Vicious Circle" , other have great melodies, like "Nightbirds" , and other are just plain groovy like "Tired" (great riff!) and "Like I Was".

In A nutshell, this is a fine release, but it will take a couple of listens before complete assimilation, mainly because of the lack of catchy parts and good choruses, maybe that was their intention, maybe not, but in Prog Metal you need those elements to counter the technical parts, that can get boring also.
My best wishes for these guys, but they need to offer us a more refined product next time, because this won't take them to the big leagues.
http://www.metalstorm.net